Time has a funny way of circling around though, almost like the spinning vinyl many of us had thought we had…
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"Young people don't listen to music together like we used to do." I have been running into various versions of this opinion in the audiophile world ever since 'personal listening' critical mass was first achieved by ear-buds and iPods in the early 2000s. Hi-fi buffs who are now banking those Senior Discounts think back fondly to that particular dorm room, where they first heard that Van Dyke Parks album their friend turned them on to. (Substitute your own title here . . .)
Sidebar: Peter Matson's Jupiter Disco LP playlist:
1.) Harvey Sutherland: "Priestess"
2.) Funkadelic: "Aint That Kinda Funkin' Hard on You?"
3.) Fingers Inc.: "Mystery of Love (Mystery of Dub) "
4.) MFSB: "Love is the Message (Mr. K Edit) "
5.) Herbie Hancock: "Ready or Not"
6.) Stardust: "Music Sounds Better With You"
7.) Mr. Fingers: "Washing Machine"
8.) Metro Area: "Atmosphrique"
9.) Theo Parrish: "Nefarious Stranger"
10.) Prince: "Chelsea Rogers"
11.) Fela KutiL "My Lady Frustration"
Early pre-recorded cassettes were so shockingly variable that reviews of their sound would have served no purpose. Some later ones are remarkably good, though. Following are some recordings that we have found to combine excellent performance and superb recordings, some on cassette as well as LP:
Bartok: Piano Concerto No.3; Ravel: Piano Concerto in g
Katchen (piano), Kertesz (cond.), LSO
London CS-6487 (LP)
Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance 1–5; Bliss: Things to Come, Welcome the Queen
Bliss (cond.), LSO
London STS-15112 (LP)
Gottschalk. Night in the Tropics;…
In appearance the Counterpoint SA-7 tube preamplifier is quite attractive, possessing the thin, low-profile look currently in vogue. There is a mute switch which (if you remember to use it) protects your amplifier from the preamp's turn-on and turn-off thumps. Unfortunately, the volume control on my unit didn't track accurately, and it was necessary to adjust balance with each change in volume. One unusual feature: the balance control allows very fine gradations in balance adjustment (a large movement of the control results in a small change in balance).
Interconnects
Since this…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Stereo vacuum tube preamplifier. Inputs for Magnetic phono (both MM and MC), Aux, and Tape. Mute switch. Separate volume and balance control.
Price: $595 (1984); no longer available (2018).
Manufacturer: Counterpoint Electronic Systems, Inc., La Jolla, CA 92037 (1984); company no longer in existence (2018),
Spring may be a little late arriving this year, to judge from the weather in New York, but the May issue is on its way to subscribers, newsstands, and tablets. Featuring Bowers & Wilkins' impressive 702 S2 speaker on the cover, which is reviewed inside by Kal Rubinson, this issue features reviews of amplifiers from Luxman, Mark Levinson, NAD, and Parasound; phono cartridges from Soundsmith and Audio-Technica; an intriguing NOS DAC from HoloAudio; Art Dudley on a DeVore Fidelity speaker; and, believe it or not, a smartphone that offers both hi-rez and MQA playback.
Speaking of MQA, Jim…
Friday April 13 and Saturday April 14, Canadian dealer The HiFi Attic is holding events at its Vernon location (Friday, 3–9pm, 3108 30th Avenue, Vernon, BC V1T 2C2), and Kelowna location (Saturday, 10am–5pm, 1292 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z4). Featured will be Bowers and Wilkins 700 series speakers—Kal Rubinson reviews the 702 S2 in the May Stereophile—AudioQuest, and BlueSound/MQA.
Appies and refreshments will be served, industry reps will be in attendance, and attendees who fill in a ballot will be eligible to win prizes.
Whoever invented the adage "Good things come in small packages" wasn't into high-end audio. Most high-end products are huge and heavy, with massive power supplies, thick front panels, and battleship build quality. This dreadnought approach is justified if it directly affects the unit's sonic performance (as in the Mark Levinson No.31 transport, for example). In some products, however, the massive build can reflect a shotgun, overkill approach by the designer, or a mere fashion statement.
But can flyweight products hold their own musically with the behemoths of the High End? This question…
The 200 is also unusual in that Meridian makes all the pcbs and wrote the control software. Most manufacturers buy ready-built servo boards (and sometimes even the entire decoder board) and use the standard control software. Meridian has optimized servo performance with its own four-layer pcb (four-layer boards are expensive) and its own laser pickup control software. This is said to result in better sonic performance. Moreover, the 200 uses sophisticated tracking strategies to keep the laser on track, reportedly resulting in less error correction having to be performed on the recovered…
Sidebar 1: Review System
I auditioned the 263 and 200 on their own and together. Each was also compared separately to converters and transports I consider to be the best in their price ranges. The $799 Sumo Theorem has proven to be the converter to beat under $1000, and the PS Audio UltraLink and Proceed PDP 3 set the standard a few notches up at the $2000–$2500 price range. For an absolute reference, I compared the 263 to the Mark Levinson No.30 processor. The $2500 Proceed PDT 3 transport, which I raved about in the last issue, was on hand, as was the $8500 Mark Levinson No.31…